rising temperatures and rising moods

I'm so confused.

In France, it appears to me as if the weather man (and by this I mean the man in charge of choosing each day's weather, not the one that tells us all about it on TV) had forgotten it was Spring for a good few weeks, and then upon realising his mistake, sent a sudden wave of sun and warmth, or should I say heat, upon us all.

I'm not even exaggerating when I say it went from 11 degrees celsius one day, to a scorching (for this little kiwi, anyway) 26 degrees the next, and honestly I couldn't be happier to see the sun! I've come to realise now just how bad little old New Zealand has it weather wise most of the time, except for the sudden heat wave that happened only after I left the country (we just won't mention this), because Spring here, as late is it is, is already hotter than most summer days I'm used to in Wellington.

The other great thing is that, not only is it a lot hotter here, it's also a lot safer, and there's actually no need to wear sun block, you just don't burn. It's crazy, but it makes enjoying the weather that much easier.

Spring really has sprung in a matter of days. Last week at school I was still wearing a scarf, jacket and boots, and then all of a sudden yesterday I was able to wear a dress and, lo and behold, bare legs! Also, looking at the scenery around town, there's just no comparison to the past month. People are riding bikes in t-shirts, baguettes sticking out of their front baskets (I'm not just putting a cliché here for the sake of it, I swear this is something I truly saw) and literally out of no where, hundreds of beautiful pink cherry blossoms have sprouted, along with daffodils, daisies and various other belles fleurs, joined with the welcomed song of happy birds.

It's only now that I realise how quiet and bare winter really was, after the novelty of snow had worn off slightly. As much as I enjoyed it, I'm welcoming the new season warmth with open (and bare) arms and really looking forward to seeing a whole new side of Annecy, through sunglasses, might I add.

Staying true to my word, I think it's fair to say that recently I have rediscovered a bit of my motivation and the change in weather may have a part to play in my change in spirit. I knew it was hiding deep down there somewhere! Straight after the bell marked the end of school last Wednesday at noon, I allowed my feet to lead me in the direction of the nearest bookshop where I bought a pack of three (quite overpriced, but we'll dismiss that small detail) Moleskin journals and some extra writing paper (for letters and such, squared maths paper is getting old), then ventured forth to the little cafe I told you all about. I ate a delicious and lunch of quiche lorraine accompanied in true French style by salad and bread, along with a peach syrup, which cost me a very reasonable 4.50€. It was almost empty, which just a few other customers (regulars I guessed, since they were on first name terms with the two middle aged male owners, who I could only guess by observing, were gay) so I didn't feel very too diffident when I got out one of my empty books and started writing.

I'm liking my restarted novel a lot more than the last, and I've really worked at ironing out the creases in the plot line I've always ignored, mostly during lessons in a sort of sneaky manner, and I've even developed the story a bit so that's there's more potential for a sequel. I feel stupid saying that since the first part is currently 3,090 words long (roughly 5 and a half pages) but I guess it just goes to show the really quite hopeful and excited state I'm in, thinking about it at the moment. It's partially the reason why I haven't posted on here for a while, but for once, I'm not too guilty to say it!

Today was another one of those strange school days that seem to occur quite frequently in France where my class only had 2 hours of lessons, one from 10-11am, then the last at 3-4pm, both of which I found myself writing in, so no complaining there.

Since it was such a hot day again, there have been 4 in a row now, my friends had decided to bike to school, and then take a picnic to the lakeside during our ridiculously long, but appreciated, break. I was invited to join, which I accepted happily as I had no other plans.

First stop was at the supermarket, where we bought salad (tabouli and carrot), fresh baguettes, ham, cheese, strawberries, a delicious kind of buttery cake (healthy, I know) called quatre-quart breton, and some refreshments (including grapefruit rosé, what else?). We then proceeded to stuff everything, after paying for it of course, into all 6 of our bags which, for some reason, was a lot harder than we had first anticipated.

Because I hadn't been told of the plans, I had come to school bike-less, which posed a bit of a problem considering there were 6 of us and weirdly enough, only 4 bikes. In true spirit of my crazy friends here, it was decided that 2 of us would ride on the back of 2 other people's bikes, and let me tell you now, it really was a truly painful, yet hilarious experience. As I sit here writing this, I'm feeling the repercussion of that moment of hilarity on my inner thighs... Let's just say that those wire rack things that you attach saddle bags to are not made for bony bums and bumpy rides! No complaining though, I guess, I can only imagine how difficult it must have been for the people who kindly drove me!

The afternoon was spent eating, sunbathing, listening to music, taking photos, talking (not so much me), writing and making daisy chains (only me). Although I couldn't join in on a lot of the conversation, still, I know, I really enjoyed the company of everyone and the sun against my bare skin was definitely an invigorating feeling.

Now, because my blog has been lacking visuals, and also since I have to wake up for school in only 8 hours, I've put together some photos from the past week for your viewing pleasure to finish this post.

I certainly don't hope that me bragging about the French sun to everyone is New Zealand is going to give it stage fright... While it's true that le temps in Annecy really is rather temperamental, I can't bare the thought of going back to wearing a coat any time soon!

I suppose that's all, I'll be back soon...

Yours truly,
me, Eloise x

words: une de mes raisons d'être

Firstly, 101 apologies, because I'm well aware I haven't posted anything on here in almost 2 weeks and I honestly feel truly guilty about it. The only reason this has happened, of course, being that I've been dreadfully lazy and unmotivated and there's really no excuse for it. I've seriously got to sort my priorities out, starting from now.

Unfortunately, the weather here in Annecy is doing nothing to improve my 0.01 level of motivation à ce moment as, even though it's officially been Spring for over 2 weeks, it's grey, wet and cold. Not unlike a typical day in Wellington, might I add, however irked I am that of all the reminders I could be given of home, this is what I get!  Come on sun, I need your warming, uplifting rays of joy! I also want to be able to wear my new leather jacket without turning into an icicle, thankyouverymuch. 

It's really quite strange how when I look back at each day in retrospect when I'm cuddled up in bed, and while it appears to have gone pretty fast, when I think back to the few amazing days before I left New Zealand, it seems like a lifetime ago! I think it's probably got something to do with the fact that from the moment I stepped foot on that very first plane to Auckland, my whole life changed entirely. Cheesy and a cliché, I know, but it's honestly such a truthful statement when you think about it. In fact, I only just realised the other day that I've never been so far from my home, friends or family for this long in my whole life, which is an incredibly strange thing to think about, not to mention a very unfamiliar situation to have to deal with. I think this is probably the reason that while my time here is whooshing by reasonably fast, New Zealand and my life in it, seems like a whole world away.

Surprisingly I don't have a lot to tell you from the past 13 days... Life has sort of gone on as usual, if I'm perfectly honest. School's been quite long and tiring (although no more visits from le Roi, much to my pleasure), the sun is refusing to shine and I've done minimal shopping (although this is probably a good thing - Dad be proud!) Not everything is completely miserable though, as I feel I'm making it out to be. Mon dieu, I don't want you thinking that! Because although I'm reasonably homesick and some days are pretty challenging, I won't lie, I do love France. 

I've mentioned already that the reason for my absence here has been total and utter lack of motivation, a character fault on my behalf that isn't exactly a new addition to my character, but I've realised that the more I allow things to stay this way, the more time I'm going to waste by being completely unproductive. That's just not a very good way of life, now, is it? 

You see, here's the thing, sometimes I'm too soft on myself, because I think "Oh, just relax Eloise, you've been thinking hard all day, you're so tired, you need a break." and while this is partially true, the more I believe this, the worse it becomes and I get absolutely nothing, zilch, rien done! 

Most of you may have figured by now that I enjoy writing, rather immensely, in fact. I like to think of myself as someone with various passions, and while it's true I enjoy a good  day of shopping or a cupcake baking session as much as the next person, nothing compares with attempting to move my fingers to match the speed of which sentences are forming in my mind. It's a real blast I tell you. I can also honestly say that I truly feel a sense of pride when I look back on things I've written, even if they're not my best work. 

The truth is, I'm so often and easily inspired to write by the things and people around me, but it's a rare occasion that this is then converted into motivation and finally words, because I allow distractions to overcome any form of excitement to start something, and then by the time my mind returns to the thought of getting down to business (hehe), the moment has passed. It's sad, because practically every moment of every day I'm forming sentences in my head, thinking of things to write, but they rarely escape onto paper, and are instead discarded and thrown onto a dejected pile in my mind, never to see the light of day or meet the eyes of potential readers. 

Anyway, I guess the whole point of this rant is to say that yesterday I reread a few chapters of a novel I started back in 2010, and as much as I wholeheartedly hated it and excusing the fact that I mentally picked it to absolute smithereens, it really did wonders with refuelling the author within me. I've decided to restart the novel, because the main idea isn't bad (I literally had every part of the plot down to the smallest details figured out, which makes things easier for me now, thanks 15 year old me), and I think it might have a bit of potential now that I realise it's not ok to use the words 'afro ninja' to describe a character's hair, or that 'could of' is absolutely, definitely, one of the worst grammatical errors ever to have been uttered (regrettably by me, at least 4 times) and not accepted in any size, shape or form. 

To assure I make a start somewhere (and let's be honest, this is NOT going to happen with endless diversions on the internet) tomorrow I plan to buy myself a notebook, walk to Old Annecy, eat lunch at a newly discovered, completely idyllic French cafe, and while away the afternoon with a good spot of writing. The ideas are literally bursting from my head and I absolutely can't wait.

If that doesn't sound perfect, I don't know what does. 

That's all for now, I promise I won't keep you waiting this long for an update again! 

Wish me luck with my new strategy! I wonder how long it will last...

Yours truly, 

me, Eloise x